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Improving Air Handler Efficiency in Houses.

DE2004828559

Publication Date	2004
Personal Author	Walker, I. S.
Page Count	18
Abstract	Although furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps have become significantly more efficient over the last couple of decades, residential air handlers have typical efficiencies of only 10% to 15% due to poor electric motor performance and aerodynamically poor fans and fan housings. Substantial increases in performance could be obtained through improved air handler design and construction. A prototype residential air handler intended to address these issues has recently been developed. The prototype and a standard production fan were tested in a full-scale duct system and test chamber at LBNL specifically designed for testing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The laboratory tests compared efficiency, total airflow, sensitivity to duct system flow resistance, and the effects of installation in a smaller cabinet. The test results showed that the prototype air handler had about twice the efficiency of the standard air handler (averaged over a wide range of operating conditions) and was less sensitive to duct system flow resistance changes. The performance of both air handlers was significantly reduced by reducing the clearance between the air handler and cabinet it was placed in. These test results showed that in addition to the large scope for performance improvement, air handler fans need to be tested in the cabinets they operate in.
Keywords	Energy efficiency Residential buildings Protypes Design Air flow Fans Electric motors Performance Flow resistance Blowers Ducts Residential air handlers
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200513

Improving Air Handler Efficiency in Houses.

Improving Air Handler Efficiency in Houses.
DE2004828559

Publication Date	2004
Personal Author	Walker, I. S.
Page Count	18
Abstract	Although furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps have become significantly more efficient over the last couple of decades, residential air handlers have typical efficiencies of only 10% to 15% due to poor electric motor performance and aerodynamically poor fans and fan housings. Substantial increases in performance could be obtained through improved air handler design and construction. A prototype residential air handler intended to address these issues has recently been developed. The prototype and a standard production fan were tested in a full-scale duct system and test chamber at LBNL specifically designed for testing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The laboratory tests compared efficiency, total airflow, sensitivity to duct system flow resistance, and the effects of installation in a smaller cabinet. The test results showed that the prototype air handler had about twice the efficiency of the standard air handler (averaged over a wide range of operating conditions) and was less sensitive to duct system flow resistance changes. The performance of both air handlers was significantly reduced by reducing the clearance between the air handler and cabinet it was placed in. These test results showed that in addition to the large scope for performance improvement, air handler fans need to be tested in the cabinets they operate in.
Keywords	Energy efficiency Residential buildings Protypes Design Air flow Fans Electric motors Performance Flow resistance Blowers Ducts Residential air handlers
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200513